Peruvian fisherman found alive after 95 days lost at sea

(CNN) — A Peruvian fisherman has been found alive in the Pacific Ocean after spending 95 days lost at sea, Peru’s state news agency Andina reported Saturday.

Máximo Napa Castro, 61, set off on his fishing boat on December 7 from Marcona, a coastal town in the south of the country, but bad weather caused him to stray from his course and lose direction, according to Andina.

He was found on March 11 by an Ecuadorian fishing boat in waters off the coast of northern Peru, heavily dehydrated and in critical condition, the agency said.

After his rescue, Napa Castro told local media in a tearful interview that he managed to survive by drinking rainwater he collected on the boat and eating insects, birds and a turtle.

He spent the last 15 days without eating, Reuters reported.

Napa Castro told local media he kept thinking about his family to “hold on” to life.

“I said I didn’t want to die for my mother. I had a granddaughter who is a few months old, I held on to her. Every day I thought of my mother,” he said.

The fisherman’s daughter Inés Napa Torres thanked the Ecuadorian fishermen for saving her dad’s life.

“Thank you, Ecuadorian brothers, for rescuing my dad Gatón, God bless you,” she said in a Facebook post.

Napa Castro’s family and groups of fishermen had been searching for him for three months. “Every day is anguish for the whole family and I understand my grandmother’s pain because as a mother I understand her (…) We never thought we would go through this situation, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, we will not lose hope, Dad, of finding you,” his daughter wrote on March 3 on Facebook.

Napa Castro received medical checks at the Hospital Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in Paita, near Peru’s border with Ecuador, and was discharged on Saturday, Ecuavisa, a CNN affiliate, reported.

CNN is trying to contact the fisherman’s family.

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